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Brad Chmielewski and Ken Hunnemeder are at Haymarket Pub & Brewery talking with Steve Mosqueda and Sean Benjamin about Drinking and Writing. Joining them on the Hop Cast is Jamie Budzick and head brewer at Haymarket, Pete Crowley. Steve and Sean created Drinking and Writing to preserve the spirit and devotion of the hard drinking writer and to uphold the rituals of their creativity and passion for the written word. Before Haymarket opened, Steve and Sean performed at pubs around the city. Pete offered them a home at Haymarket and now that they have a permanent location they have the freedom to do things they may not of been able to do before. Like having a special Christmas beer that Pete is brewing for their Christmas show in April. Drinking and Writing put on a great show and they are always changing so be sure to check out the Drinking and Writing website to see what they have coming up.

Last March we picked Three FloydsBrian Boru for the beer of the month. It’s such a phenomenal beer we really could have picked it again. But we know many of you can’t get Brian Boru so we wanted to pick another great Irish Red Ale that many more of you can find on the shelves. For the March 2011 beer of the month we have picked Great Lakes Conway’s Irish Ale. This is a medium bodied beer which makes it perfect to enjoy with your Irish dinner of corned beef and potatoes. It pours out a copper amber color with a light thin white head. A bready sweetness drifts from your glass with hints of nuts and caramel. When you first take a drink those roasted malts really fill your mouth. There is a small hop bite but it’s quickly covered up with sweetness. It finishes very clean which makes it a perfect dinner beer. You can take a sip to help wash that great meal down and not have something that is going to destroy your taste buds. It’s a very smooth beer to drink and with an ABV of just 6.5% it’s easy to knock a few back. This beer has a broad appeal and should please both the craft beer fans and non-craft beer lovers.

In episode 127 of the Hop CastBrad Chmielewski and Ken Hunnemeder are joined by Steve Wyatt for a vertical tasting. The three of them take a look at the last four years of Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss Wine; 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. It’s really interesting to see how this beer changes and evolves and its always nice to try different beer vintages side by side.

Again we are sorry about the audio issue and thank you for watching the Hop Cast.

Episode 126 takes place in the beer nook at the cabin the Hop Cast guys were staying at in Wisconsin. Ken Hunnemeder and Brad Chmielewski are joined by Brad Stark in this episode of Bourbon barrel ales. Unfortunately there were some slight audio issues with this episode. We apologize in advance for this. But even with the audio issues the three of them sip on some great beers. First up was one Brad picked up while he was in Portland, Oregon. It’s the Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Bang Red from New Lompoc. This beer was brewed in June of 2009 and sat in the barrels for just about a year before it was bottled. With an 8.20% this beer packs a ton of flavor and makes for a perfect sipping beer. They then follow up the Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Bang Red with a 2007 Olde HickoryBardstown Brand Ale Aged In Bourbon Barrels. This beer came special delivered from Brusin’ Ales. With an ABV of 10% this barleywine packs a huge punch. A true sipping beer that tastes like you are drinking a fine bourbon.

Again we are sorry about the audio issue and thank you for watching the Hop Cast.

In episode 125 Ken Hunnemeder and Brad Chmielewski are joined by Anthony Stagno to share a couple rare beers from his cellar. Anthony was kind enough to crack open two limited beers on the Hop Cast. The first one was Kate The Great from Portsmouth. This beer has escaped Ken and Brad’s grasp for years and they finally got their first taste of this well balance stout on the Hop Cast“>Hop Cast. With an ABV of 10.5% if you can stop yourself from drinking it right away, then it should age very well in the cellar. The three of them follow upKate The Great with Coast Brewing’sBlackbeerd. This was one of the first releases of this beer and has been sitting in Anthony’s cellar for over three years. This russian imperial stout with a 9.3% ABV held up to the years very well. These are two great beers that if you ever have the opportunity to sample you shouldn’t pass up.

Brad and Ken thank you for the continued support of the Hop Cast. Thank You for watching.

Brad Chmielewski and Ken Hunnemeder are getting funky and sour in episode 123 of the Hop Cast. Joined with them on this taste bud adventure are special guests Charlie Drews and Greer Davis. Both of whom are big fans of sour beers, so this episode is perfect for them. The first beer the four of them open is the Ska Brewing Ska Sour, an American Wild Ale that was only brewed once. This was a rare find since in Chicago we don’t see much from Ska besides the standard cans. They follow up the Ska Sour with a beer Brad picked up in Portland, Or. The Cascade Bourbonic Plague another American Wild Ale packing a huge punch at 11.5% ABV. Cascade makes some killer sour beers and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Brad and Ken thank you for the continued support of the Hop Cast. Thank You for watching.